iron rich foods for pregnancy and lactation

10 Super Iron-Rich Foods for Pregnancy & Lactation

7/11/2019

Iron is essential during pregnancy and lactation.

It gives stamina to the mother, and is essential in proper brain development and blood cell formation for the baby. Also, it helps in treating and preventing iron deficiency anemia! Hence, incorporating iron-rich foods in your diet is extremely important for a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Iron rich foods can either be heme or non-heme based. Heme based iron foods are derived from meat (non-vegetarian), whereas non-heme based iron foods are derived from plants (vegetarian).

Non-Heme sources or vegetarian sources of iron include :

Fortified Cereals
Green leafy vegetables - e.g., spinach, methi (fenugreek)
Dried seeds and nuts
Whole grains
Pulses and beans - e.g., lentils, peas, soy, kidney bean
Fruits - e.g., figs, dates, apples, raisins (dried fruits)

Heme sources or non-vegetarian sources of iron include :

Poultry - chicken breasts, chicken drumsticks
Seafood - canned tuna, mackerel, trout, bass
Eggs
Meat

Also, a very important step is to add Vitamin C along with as it helps in the absorption of iron. Some Vitamin C rich sources include fruit juices (e.g., lime, orange, amla), vegetable juices (e.g., tomato, carrot) and whole vegetables (e.g., capsicum, tomato)

More often than not, regular diet is insufficient to provide us with all the required vitamins & minerals during pregnancy due to increased needs. Hence, women should consider depending on additional prenatal supplements to meet their requirements.

MamaBix is a food based iron rich supplement to fulfil your iron and folic acid needs during pregnancy and lactation. It also contains 120mg Vitamin C to increase the absorption of iron.

More than 70% of pregnant women prefer eating MamaBix over iron pills.